BEIJING, March 30 -- Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, introduced Chinese military’s participation in the defense and security cooperation within the SCO this year at a regular press conference on Thursday.
According to Tan, a working group of China’s Ministry of National Defense recently visited India to participate in meetings among the international military cooperation departments under the defense ministries of SCO member states. They actively advocated the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress, elaborated the Global Security Initiative in depth, and provided insights on the promotion of SCO defense cooperation.
In mid-to-late March, the Chinese side also sent delegates to India to attend respectively the SCO Workshop on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) and the SCO think tank exchange on military health and medicine, and participated in the Expert Working Group (EWG) affiliated with the Meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the SCO Member States through a video link. During these meetings, the Chinese delegates had close and extensive communication with other participants, which profoundly enhanced the mutual trust and coordination among the parties.
“In the next stage, China is willing to cooperate with defense departments and militaries of all SCO member states to vigorously promote the‘Shanghai Spirit’, continue to accelerate practical cooperation in high-level exchanges, education and training, military inspections and other fields, thus contributing to building a closer SCO community with a shared future,” said the spokesperson.
